House Health Policy Committee hears testimony on bills to create Michigan Health Data Utility and fund it through insurance assessment

The House Health Policy Committee heard testimony on House Bills 4037 and 4038, a package to establish a Michigan Health Data Utility and fund it through the Insurance Provider Assessment Act, during a committee meeting where lawmakers asked about privacy, patient control and costs.

Representative Julie Rogers, D-41 of Kalamazoo, told the committee HB 4037 would create a statewide health data utility (HDU) to combine, enhance and exchange electronic health data for treatment, care coordination, quality improvement and public health. Representative Rogers said the bills are reintroductions of legislation that passed the House in the prior term but did not reach a Senate vote. She described a family member’s case in which a medication omission between settings contributed to pressure wounds and urged lawmakers to adopt the HDU to reduce duplicative testing and improve clinical decision-making.

The nut graf: supporters say the HDU would expand existing health information exchange (HIE) infrastructure to include non‑traditional partners such as schools, foster care and community organizations; opponents and some committee members focused questions on who controls access, whether participation is mandatory and how the system will be funded and secured.

MIHAN officials and clinicians described technical, legal and operational safeguards. Kim Batchelder, vice president of…